Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus Staff Picks

MMASucka staff picks are in for the second-half of our weekend double-header.

A monumental event it will be as Bellator 300 takes place tonight, October 7th from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. This comes as the promotion’s second trip to western city after Bellator 131 in November of 2014 and its 300th event since the company’s inception commencing with Bellator 1 in April of 2009. Preliminary fights will be available on Bellator’s YouTube channel beginning at 6:25pm ET (3:25pm PT) followed by the main card on Showtime at 10:00pm ET (7:00pm PT).

Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus results will be available here at MMASucka.

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Be sure to recap Friday’s ONE Fight Night 15 event from Bangkok, Thailand as well as today’s UFC Vegas 80: Dawson vs. Green from Las Vegas, Nevada. Stay tuned Tuesday, October 10th for our Dana White’s Contender Series: Season 7, Week 10 picks also from Las Vegas.

The Fights

Three championship fights will take place on the main card in celebration. A rematch between current Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader and challenger Linton Vassell was intended to serve as the night’s main event but was cancelled after Vassell was forced out due to an illness.

Prompted to the headliner sees Usman Nurmagomedov and Brent Primus set for battle for both the Bellator Lightweight Championship as well as hopeful advancement in the promotion’s Lightweight World Grand Prix.

25-year-old and undefeated Nurmagomedov took the title with his November of 2022 decision over Patricky Pitbull securing his first title defense in March of this year with a first-round submission in the quarterfinals over Benson Henderson. Former divisional title holder Primus advanced his way into the opportunity with a five-round decision over former M-1 and BAMMA Champion Mansour Barnaoui. The victor between Nurmagomedov and Primus will take on the semifinal victor of Alexandr Shabliy versus Patricky Pitbull (date unconfirmed) in the Grand Prix finals at a later event.

A grudge match between Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg and challenger Cat Zingano will take place in the co-main event.

The final of three championship pairings comes for the Women’s Flyweight Championship between Liz Carmouche and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.

Because of the main event’s cancellation, a fourth fight between heavyweights Davion Franklin and Slim Trabelsi was added to our picks for the night ahead. Who are the MMASucka staff taking at Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus? Find out further below.

Who is moving on to the #BellatorLWGP $1m finals? 👀

Lightweight champ @Usmannmgdv (154.8) takes on challenger and former champion @brentprimus155 (154.8) in our HISTORIC main event!

👊 #Bellator300📺 SATURDAY, 10pm ET/7pm PT on @SHOsports 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/msxrq2AcGC

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 6, 2023

2023 Staff Picks

MMASucka staff picks are composed of five promotions: the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, ONE Championship, the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). UFC and Bellator events feature picks from only main cards. PFL will feature select fights from the main and/or preliminary card while DWCS sees all fights counted from the event. ONE Championship returns to picks for the first time since 2020 and will feature only mixed martial arts (MMA) fights selected from cards with a minimum three matchups.

The WINNER of staff picks at the end of 2023, who picked the most victorious fighters, will have a choice between receiving a custom-made championship belt from ProAmBelts or a chain from Championship Chains. Staff picks in 2022 was won by Wesley Riddle with a record of 264-135.

See our Bellator 300: Nurmagomedov vs. Primus picks below.

Staff Records after Dana White’s Contender Series – Season 7, Week 9:

1. Ben Jamieson: 248-1242. Michael DeSantis: 240-1283. Jeremy Brand: 238-1344. Wesley Riddle: 235-1375. Nate Freeman: 233-1396. Frazer Krohn: 223-1497. Julio Monteros Jr.: 203-1148. Andrew Benjamin: 174-1489. Jack Goodwillie: 148-8310. Brian Knight: 140-8411. Tim Wheaton: 105-6012. Roemello Reyes: 62-3413. Jonathan Andrade: 31-2414. Brandon Joint: 12-915. Andrew Harbaugh: 10-716. Joshua Yule: 7-617. Chris De Santiago: 6-618. Antwyn Jackson: 5-6

*Note – not all staff pick for every event**Note – ONE Fight Night 15 & UFC Vegas 80 picks will be added to the above records NEXT weekend*

Davion Franklin (6-1), +120vs.Slim Trabelsi (5-0), -142

Heavyweight Division– 265 LBS. ~ 120.2 KG. –

Jeremy Brand: Franklin via Unanimous DecisionWesley Riddle: Trabelsi via Round 2 TKOMichael DeSantis: Franklin via Unanimous DecisionAndrew Benjamin: Trabelsi via Round 1 TKOFrazer Krohn: Franklin via Unanimous DecisionNate Freeman: Trabelsi via Round 3 TKOBen Jamieson: Trabelsi via Round 3 TKO

Staff picking Franklin: 3Staff picking Trabelsi: 4

Liz Carmouche (19-7), -345vs.Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (13-2), +275

Women’s Flyweight Divisional Championship– 125 LBS. ~ 56.7 KG. –

Jeremy Brand: Carmouche via Unanimous DecisionWesley Riddle: Carmouche via Split DecisionMichael DeSantis: Carmouche via Unanimous DecisionAndrew Benjamin: Carmouche via Unanimous DecisionFrazer Krohn: Carmouche via Unanimous DecisionNate Freeman: Carmouche via Unanimous DecisionBen Jamieson: Carmouche via Unanimous Decision

Staff picking Carmouche: 7Staff picking Macfarlane: 0

Cris Cyborg (26-2, 1 NC), -800vs.Cat Zingano (14-4), +550

Women’s Featherweight Divisional Championship– Co-Main Event –– 145 LBS. ~ 65.8 KG. –

Jeremy Brand: Zingano via Unanimous DecisionWesley Riddle: Cyborg via Round 5 TKOMichael DeSantis: Cyborg via Round 2 TKOAndrew Benjamin: Cyborg via Round 3 TKOFrazer Krohn: Cyborg via Round 4 TKONate Freeman: Cyborg via Round 2 TKOBen Jamieson: Cyborg via Round 2 TKO

Staff picking Cyborg: 6Staff picking Zingano: 1

Usman Nurmagomedov (17-0), -2100vs.Brent Primus (12-3), +1100

Lightweight Divisional Championship– Main Event –– 155 LBS. ~ 70.3 KG. –

Jeremy Brand: Nurmagomedov via Unanimous DecisionWesley Riddle: Nurmagomedov via Unanimous DecisionMichael DeSantis: Nurmagomedov via Round 2 SUBAndrew Benjamin: Nurmagomedov via Unanimous DecisionFrazer Krohn: Nurmagomedov via Round 3 TKONate Freeman: Nurmagomedov via Unanimous DecisionBen Jamieson: Nurmagomedov via Unanimous Decision

Staff picking Nurmagomedov: 7Staff picking Primus: 0

BELLATOR 300 FEATURED IMAGE:

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker (middle) aside champion Cris Cyborg (left) and challenger Cat Zingano (right) ahead of their Bellator 300 fight for the Women’s Featherweight World Championship taking place Saturday, October 7th from the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California (photo credits to Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA).